“Fawad privatisation minister, can’t influence polls process,” ECP.
Ahad Cheema was removed from his post as a result of plea.
Advocate Syed Aziz Uddin Kaka Khel filed plea on Sep 29.
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday rejected a plea that sought the removal of Fawad Hasan Fawad from the post of caretaker Federal Minister for Privatisation and Inter Provincial Coordination.
The plea, filed by Advocate Syed Aziz Uddin Kaka Khel on September 29, requested the ECP to remove “biased ministers” from the interim government ahead of the general polls, scheduled to take place on February 8, 2024.
The ECP, in its verdict, said the petition appears to be a result of a personal grudge.
According to Geo News, the electoral body said that Fawad is the privatisation minister; therefore, he cannot influence the election process.
The ECP added that the minister has been serving in important positions in the past.
Advocate Kaka Khel had filed the petition against caretaker federal cabinet members Ahad Cheema and Fawad. While Cheema was removed from his post, the latter’s position remains intact.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar inducted the former bureaucrat into the interim cabinet on September 12. The appointment was also approved by President Arif Alvi under Article 224 (1A) on the advice of Premier Kakar.
During his career, Fawad held highly sensitive and important positions in Pakistan and abroad. Before his retirement, his last post was director general of the Civil Service Academy in Lahore.
He also served as principal secretary to the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif as well as the Punjab chief minister. He also served as secretary to various offices including Excise and Taxation, Communication and Works, Health, and S&GAD with the Punjab government. He had also served as deputy commissioner Quetta and Lahore.
After Nawaz’s ouster from office and indictment in the Avenfield corruption case, Fawad was also arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for his alleged involvement in the Rs14 billion Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme scam in 2018. However, in February 2023 he was acquitted in the case.